


Guard This Heart

by Annie_Is_A_Contranym



Series: AM2015tumblrshorts [5]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Boys Kissing, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-17
Updated: 2015-02-17
Packaged: 2018-03-12 07:08:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3348125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Annie_Is_A_Contranym/pseuds/Annie_Is_A_Contranym
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bodyguard Stiles Stilinski is hired by his ex, Derek Hale, to protect his daughter.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Guard This Heart

**Author's Note:**

> There have been a few requests for more bodyguard!Derek and I intend to fill them but first I wanted to try bodyguard!Stiles.

 

                                                            

 

The office space of Derek Hale, CEO of Wolf Technologies, was a luxurious space with walnut coloured wood furnishing and earthy tones to the décor. Stiles should have been sitting in the chair the receptionist had led him to while he waited, but he was too curious to sit still. Scanning the room, he noticed the desk photo of a young girl with dark hair and hazel eyes – a combination that he remembered all too intimately. Picking it up, he studied the image with curiosity and regret. Mara Hale would be his charge. She was also the daughter that Derek had with Kate.

Stiles tensed automatically, the way he always did when Derek’s wife came to mind, and not for the first time since Kira approached him with the job, he wondered about his sanity. This job meant constantly facing the reminder that the second he and Derek had fought and broken up, Derek sought solace in Kate’s body.

Stilinski Security had only recently set up operations in Beacon Hills. Having left the town for college, he’d chosen to stay in Los Angeles after graduation, starting the firm as a way of putting his double major of Criminology and Software Engineering to work. His dad’s retirement and questionable health however, had him moving the moderately successful company back home to the town he’d fled from when the man he thought he’d someday marry married someone else.

He heard the door open but didn't turn around.

“She looks a lot like Laura, doesn't she?” Derek sounded like Stiles remembered, soft with a hint of husky.  “I’m glad you came, Stiles. I wasn’t sure you would.”

When he turned around, he could see that Derek had changed physically. His face was almost the same but now there was a neatly trimmed beard shading his jaw. He was roughly the same height but boy had he filled out. The broad chest Stiles remembered had obviously benefited from significant time at the gym.

"I'm not sure why I did," he responded. "I can understand hiring my firm –we are the best around – but you requested me specifically. Why?"

"Because I know you,” Derek replied, “I trust you."

There was a tightness in his gut that Stiles ignored because he was a professional, damn it!

“From the file Kira compiled, I noted the harassing calls, photos and letters. Why didn't you take the evidence to the police and have them track it?”

"No. I'd prefer that this didn't get out to the public." Derek moved from where he’d been standing by the door and sat at his desk, suddenly looking tired. “Wolf is about to launch a new product that we've invested everything we have in. If word of this gets out, shareholder confidence may tank, it could mean the end of us.”

Stiles could understand this.

"Okay,” He said. “I’ll make sure nothing happens to Mara while my team hunts down the perpetrator but let’s get one thing clear. If I give an order concerning Mara's protection, you will not question it."

Derek nodded.

"Good,” said Stiles. “Let’s go meet Mara.”

As Stiles followed Derek’s SUV to his home in one of the better areas in Beacon Hills, he wrestled with all the reasons that taking this assignment was a bad idea. The anguish he felt when Derek and Kate married filled him all over again, but all that was cast aside as soon as both vehicles pulled up to the house only to find several Sheriff’s Department cars, with red lights flashing, parked out front.  Both men bolted from their cars and up towards the house where a deputy stood by the door.  

"I'm Derek Hale. This is my house. What happened?" His words were addressed to the deputy but his eyes were scanning past him into the house. “Is my daughter in there?”

“Mr. Hale!” The officer greeted. “We were just about to call you. No, your daughter was not at home when the incident happened.  Someone smashed all the windows at the back of your home. Your next door neighbour heard the sounds and called us. ”

“We have a deputy next door taking his statement. We've already checked the house. It doesn't look like anything was taken, but of course we’ll want you to confirm that.”

Derek and Stiles were about to go in when Derek’s best friend came up the path with 8 year old Mara in hand.

Mara raced over to her father and he caught her in his arms. “Daddy! What’s going on?”

Derek hugged her tightly; relieved she was safe, planting a kiss on her forehead. “Burglars baby,” he responded. “But don’t worry. The sheriff’s department will take care of everything.”

The little girl nodded and then her eye’s fell on Stiles.

“Who’s that?” she asked.

Before Derek could answer, Stiles extended his hand formally to Mara.

“Hello, I'm Stiles,” he introduced himself. “I'm an old friend of your father’s. We grew up together. It’s so nice to meet you.”

After her dad nodded okay, Mara solemnly shook Stiles’ hand with wide eyes.

"You knew Daddy when he was in school?"

Stiles laughed. “I sure did and I have so many stories to tell you but we’ll save those for later.”

A small movement in his periphery drew his attention to Isaac.

“Isaac. It’s good to see you again.” He stretched out his hand to the man, but Isaac just gripped him by the wrist and pulled him in for a hug.

“No, it’s good to see you again Stiles.” Isaac said. “I'm glad you’re back.”

That took Stiles by surprise. He and Isaac had never been particularly close but they put up with each other because back then, they had both been important to Derek.

Isaac stayed outside with Mara whilst Derek and Stiles did a walk through the house. Knowing that no one could stay there that night, Derek made arrangements to have the damaged areas boarded up and packed a couple of overnight bags for him and his daughter. He planned to stay at a hotel if he couldn't crash at Boyd and Erica’s but in a fit of madness, Stiles volunteered to let them stay at his house.,

“It’s in a gated community with a sturdy fence and my alarm system is unbeatable.” He explained, “It will be near impossible for whoever is doing this to get to you or Mara.”

That was how Stiles found himself standing in the doorway of his spare bedroom living out a long held fantasy of him and Derek tucking in their child for the night with soft whispers of love and reassurance. Only Mara wasn't their child. She was Kate’s.  He’d thought he’d gotten over that but watching what a loving father Derek was, and having them here in his home, made him long for things he’d tried so hard to not want.

He hadn't for a second thought that their fight, that night so long ago, meant the end for them but then he heard the talk about Derek and Kate sleeping together that very night, the ugly speculations that maybe they’d been sleeping together before Derek and Stiles had broken up. He’d avoided Derek for two weeks while he cooled down and then when he was calm enough to ignore the rumours, he found out that Derek and Kate had in fact gotten together. He’d been devastated. Graduation came and went and they never talked. They just exchanged looks from a distance. When the engagement notice and wedding details were announced in the paper, Stiles left Beacon Hills early for college and never looked back.

Stiles shook himself out of his painful ruminations and headed to the kitchen to brew some coffee.  By the time Derek joined him, there were two steaming cups on the counter. Both men took their drinks into the living room where they sat in silence for a couple minutes.

“Any ideas on what’s prompting this? Who’s behind it?” Stiles question was abrupt.

“None.” Derek replied. “At first I thought it was corporate espionage or a disgruntled employee but we haven’t been able to turn anything up. I also thought maybe it was someone angry with my mother as Mayor but the threats seem very targeted to me and my daughter. No one else in the family has received anything.”

Ah yes, Stiles thought. Mayor Talia Hale, the woman who never wanted him for her son. Oh Stiles was good enough to fool around with as ‘youthful experimentation’ – never let it be said that Mayor Hale was homophobic – but when Derek had talked about turning down Harvard to stay in California with Stiles, well that had been too far across the line.  Just thinking about her made him angry all over again.

“Well, my team is on it now,” he responded. “We’ll figure it out. In the meantime, let’s talk logistics.  In the morning, we’ll take Mara to school together and talk to the principal there. I know Danielle; we have a mutual friend, Heather. She is no nonsense and will take this extremely seriously. I’ll drop you off at the office and head to mine. I will need a copy of your schedule so I can be available if you need to go anywhere.”

“Stiles,” Derek interrupted. “I hired you to protect my daughter, not me.”

“Derek, Mara is not the target, you are,” he pointed out. “According to what you told the police, you were supposed to be home, waiting for Isaac and Mara. You stayed back to meet with me. If you had been there, it might have been a lot more complicated than vandalism and property damage.”

Stiles paused and sighed. “You agreed to not fight me on strategy.

He got up. “I'm heading off to bed. If you don’t want to disturb Mara, there are blankets and pillows in the closet.

“No,” Derek said quickly. “It’s been a scary day for her. Staying with her might help, but I do think I’ll sit out here a little longer.”

They looked at each other for a moment, both trying to come to terms with being so close to each other once more. Stiles sighed tiredly.

“Mi casa es su casa,” he said and then he was gone.

Derek watched the retreating figure of the man he’d hadn't been able to forget for the past decade. He’d been so stupid. They’d fought over his mother of all people and said regrettable things to each other. He couldn't believe that they’d break up because he could understand his mother’s concerns about carrying on the Hale lineage. Then in a fit of anger he’d gone to Greenberg’s pre-Grad party and tried to drink his pain away. He’d gotten so plastered that night and when he woke up naked with Kate the next day, he’d felt so ashamed and dirty that it took him two weeks before he’d worked up the courage to talk to Stiles. But Kate had come to him waving a positive pregnancy test and his life was changed forever. It was the reason he’s never touched alcohol since then. He’d been so stupid and he’d lost everything. The only good thing to come out of it was Mara.

His marriage was an absolute sham. While he focussed on completing his degree, Kate didn't like being left alone with Mara. Desperate for attention, she began drinking and doing drugs and she’d taken on a string of lovers, some of his Harvard classmates amongst them, and there was that one infamous incident with one of his professors. When he graduated and came back to Beacon Hills, she’d lost her taste for small town life. She had in fact been leaving him, on her way to one of her lovers, high as a kite, when she’d crashed the car, ending her life.

Now, here he was with his daughter in the home of the love of his life, living out some twisted version of an oft repeated fantasy.

He got up and headed to the kitchen to put the coffee cups in the sink when a scream suddenly sliced through the night.

Derek raced to the bedroom where Mara was, only to find Stiles, wearing nothing but a pair of pyjama bottoms, already there.  He noticed the handgun Stiles discreetly slid under the bed as he knelt and wrapped the girl in his arms. 

“It’s okay Mara,” Stiles soothed, twisting to look back at Derek. “You’re safe. See? Your dad’s here too. You’re okay baby girl.”

Derek joined them sitting on the bed reaffirming Stiles’ claims. She crawled into his lap.

“He’s right Mar, I was just about to come snuggle with you.”

Mara looked at Stiles.

“Sorry Stiles. I just woke up and didn't know where I was. My brain forgot.”

Stiles ruffled her hair and pressed a kiss to her forehead as if he’d been doing it for years and Derek’s heart stuttered.

“No worries.” Stiles smiled. “No one can get in here without me knowing. We’re as safe as safe can be. Now I’ll let you and your dad get some sleep”

He got up to leave but looked back at the pair on the bed. It was a lingering look filled with something that Derek couldn't quite read but stayed with him until he drifted off into sleep.

It was the first thing on his mind when he woke up the next morning. The second thing was that he was alone in the bed. He scrambled out to find Stiles and Mara sharing pancakes in the kitchen.

“Daddy!” she cried. “Stiles was just coming to wake you. You have to hurry or I’ll be late for school.”

Stiles smiled at him. “Sorry, I let you sleep in because you had quite the long day yesterday. We saved you some pancakes so don’t let them get cold.”

Later when he was sitting at his desk in his office , Derek couldn't help but think how much like a family unit they’d been that morning. Stiles had even brushed and braided Mara’s hair. When Mara’s school principal spoke with them, she addressed them both instead of deferring to Derek. Even the way Stiles had walked around his company, chatting with his assistant, was with the air of someone very entrenched in Derek’s life. As weird as it was, it left him mildly contented. He could almost forget the reason Stiles was back in his life.

The stark reminder that came with the midday mail however, had him crashing back to earth rather quickly.

Stiles and Boyd, his head of security, handled the pictures carefully.

“Does this mean we have to move again?” Derek asked. “Does this mean we’re no longer safe in your home?”

Then a thought occurred to Derek. “Shit Stiles, we brought the  danger to your home. I am so sorry. We should have gone to a hotel.”

Stiles scoffed at Derek but he was very angry. He didn't like being played, and whoever this was, was definitely playing with them.

“Don’t be silly, Derek,” he chided. “My house is still safer than anywhere else you could go. Plus, another change in the routine could be traumatic for Mara.”

Boyd agreed. “These all look like they were taken from a distance. They may have followed you to the community but obviously couldn't get past the guard. These look as though they were taken from a roof top or tree.”

“I'm more interested in how they got the pictures here so quickly. These were obviously taken as we were leaving this morning.” Stiles noted. “In the time we stopped off at the school, they had these developed and delivered. This is a good sign. It meant they weren't interested in stalking Mara but coming directly here to Derek.”

“There’s no postage so it was hand delivered,” surmised Boyd. “I’ll pull up the security footage and see who we can flag.”

All three men headed down to the security room to view the tapes. There were two possible suspects. A young woman who was delivering a single envelope and an older gentleman who seem to be from one of the standard courier companies that they were used to doing business with.

Stiles zeroed in on the woman. Her faced was always angled away from the camera. A suspicious mind would think she knew exactly where to avoid.

“Does she look familiar to you Derek?” Stiles questioned.

Derek looked closely and shrugged. “Not particularly. She could be anyone.”

“What about the courier guy?” Stiles turned to Boyd. “Is there anything out of the ordinary with him?”

Boyd shook his head. “His uniform is fine and the packages seem legit. I know this because Marketing was looking for an invoice for some promotional items and I heard it came in this morning in the mail.”

Stiles chewed on his bottom lip. Even now with potential suspects, they didn't have anything concrete.

“Okay then,” he decided. “Copy the tape for me and I’ll take it over to my staff to see if they can clean up the images.”

Looking at Derek, he added, “Did you want to go with me? It’s almost time for Mara to get out of school. We can pick up some groceries to make dinner.”

Derek was in agreement and left with Stiles but not before being on the receiving end of a knowing look from Boyd.

Dinner that night was a light hearted affair and Derek was once again struck by how easily he and Stiles fit each other, even with a kid and the threat of a crazy stalker thrown in the mix. As they did the dishes, Mara lay on the floor in the living room, putting together a puzzle Stiles had in his closet.

"I'm not sure what I would have done if you hadn't accepted this job," he started.  “You’re so good with Mara and you’re so good at keeping me calm and focussed. I really can’t thank you enough Stiles. You've always been more than I deserved.”

Stiles couldn't tamp down the bitter snort. “I think our esteemed Mayor disagrees with you.”

“No, she doesn't.” Derek’s voice was quiet. “I spoke with her today and told her everything that’s been going on. I told her about hiring you. Stiles…she was wrong back then. The things she said to you, the pressure she put on you…it was wrong of her. She knew that from the first day she met Kate.”

Stiles could hear the sadness and regret in Derek’s voice.

“I need for you to know Stiles,” he continued. “I need you to know that I may have married Kate but you are the only person I have ever loved.  I have never said those words to anyone else. I was drunk and stupid and then Kate was pregnant and I couldn't do anything else. I grew up without a father. I couldn't let my child do the same. I made some choices as the Mayor’s son, and I am so sorry for hurting you like I did. It was the last thing I wanted.”

Stiles gut clenched. He wasn't ready for this. He couldn't be focussed on protecting Derek and Mara, and deal with the resolving the past at the same time. Mumbling something about needing to go to bed, Stiles fled the room and Derek didn't see him again for the rest of the night.

The next morning was less awkward than Derek expected. Stiles fussed over Mara, much to her delight. When they dropped her off, she included Stiles in her goodbye hug and kiss and it broke Derek’s heart that his child was getting attached to Stiles so quickly. Like father like daughter, he thought. He’d fallen quickly and deeply as well.

The drive to Derek’s building was tense and silent and it was only as they’d pulled up out front that Derek was ready to try to address what was said the night before. Before he could begin though, there was a knock on the glass. It was Boyd, telling them Kira was upstairs and they should both come up.

Derek had never really met Kira before. She was apparently married to Scott, Stiles’ best friend which is how she and Stiles met each other.  She was a cute tiny woman but deadly if Stiles was to be believed. And Derek always believed Stiles.

As she laid out the photos they’d printed off the tape, she explained how they’d used software to speculate what the woman look like based on the various angles the cameras were able to pick up. The composite was not a definitive picture of the woman but even so, Derek and Boyd couldn't place her.

The photos of the courier were clearer as the man’s face was clearly visible. Boyd joked that he looked vaguely like their old chemistry teacher Mr. Harris. They had all hated Harris. So, they had no luck with the photos. Stiles was just giving Kira instructions to run them by Sheriff Parrish down at the station to see if he could help them out, when Boyd got a call.  He signalled them to stay put.

“The courier company called to apologize about non delivery yesterday,” he relayed. “Apparently the truck was hijacked in the morning and the driver was hospitalized and unconscious. A bunch of items and the drivers coat and hat were stolen.”

Four sets of eyes swung to the pictures of the Harris look-a-like.

“Kira,” Stiles ordered, “Get these pictures to Parrish immediately and out of curiosity, find out what the hell Adrian Harris has been up to.”

“Jail,” Boyd said. “He was arrested for sexual assault a couple years after we graduated. My sister was still in school back then. Apparently he had a habit of forcing female students to sleep with him in order to pass chemistry, which many of the graduating girls needed to do.   He is supposed to be in jail.”

“Kira.” Stiles voice was hard.

“Already on it Boss.” She replied. “I've just texted the office to access his records.”

“Good.” Stiles nodded. “I'm going down to the station to speak with Parrish myself.”

“I’ll come with you.” Derek had to do something. He couldn't just sit there and wait.

As they were driving down to the Sheriff’s department, they got the call from Kira telling them that Harris was out on parole. She’d already arranged for a couple of deputies to be dispatched to his apartment for questioning.

“I know why Harris would do this.” Derek said suddenly. “I think it’s him and I know why he’s doing it.”

“What are you talking about Derek?”

“I remember when he went to jail. It was big news in Beacon Hills but Kate would get so mad when anyone ever mentioned him.”

Derek paused and there was a hiccup that sounded suspiciously like a sob.

“There were rumours Stiles, that she’d been one of his victims – except she wasn't a victim. There was talk that he didn't have to force her; That they’d had a relationship all through high school. I never paid attention. I didn't care enough to pay attention. And then she was dead.”

Derek pressed his hands against the dashboard and hung his head low.

“What if the talk was true Stiles? What if Mara isn't my child but Harris and Kate’s? What if I was just some patsy stupid enough to take the fall? If she was already pregnant that night and I just screwed up both our lives because I drank too much? I don’t even remember sleeping with her. I just woke up next to her and believed what she said happened. Maybe Harris wants his child back and he’s willing to kill me to get her? Willing to kill you too?”

Stiles was stunned. He didn't know how to process all of that, far less respond to it.  He was saved from answering though when he noticed a courier delivery van in the rear-view mirror. On a hunch, he changed routes suddenly and sure enough, the van turned after him.

“Der,” he slipped into the old nickname unconsciously. “I think the courier van behind us is following us.”

Speeding up as much as he could without putting them at risk, he waited until they lost sight of the van and then he swerved into a side street, pulling to the side of the road. They waited for a tense few seconds and then the van whizzed past them.

Derek let out a breath as Stiles pulled back out onto the road and proceeded to drive cautiously down it.

"Maybe it wasn’t actually—" Derek was hopeful.

But then the van turned onto the street. It must have doubled back.

“Call Kira and let her know where we are,” Stiles directed. “She’ll get the cops down here and some of my own guys as well.

Derek did as instructed and Stiles drove further into what seemed to be an industrial area.  He floored it but the van kept pace. As Stiles approached the next intersection, he yanked the wheel hard and pulled the handbrakes, drifting into the right turn. Unfortunately there was an eighteen wheeler backing out of a delivery bay a little ways down.

“Hold on!” he shouted as he slammed on the brakes, skidding and fishtailing before coming to a stop sideways across the street. He barely had time to ask “Are you okay Derek?” before the van was upon them. It hit the back of the Stiles' SUV spinning it closer to the truck but the impact also made the van careen to the opposite side where it smashed into a parked car.

The sounds of gunfire had Stiles dragging Derek down and out of the car on the other side. His own weapon drawn, he guided them to the safety of an alley where he told Derek, “Stay hidden. Don’t be a hero. Mara needs her dad not a dead man.  Call 911.”

Derek nodded as Stiles headed out. He grabbed Stiles’ arm and pulled him back, planting a quick hard kiss on his mouth. “You don’t be a hero. I can’t lose you again. Please.”

Stiles smiled and then ran back to the SUV which he used as a shield, crouching down behind it.

“Give it up Harris!” he shouted, “The police are on their way. It’s over”

There was no response and when he sneaked a quick look at the van, he couldn’t see the driver anywhere.

The silence was abruptly rent with the blare of sirens, and Stiles breathed a sigh of relief.

Back in the alley, Derek could hear the sounds but he couldn’t see anything.  There was the sound of a gun firing and then another and another. He couldn’t tell what was happening. He heard Stiles shout and then more gunshots while the sirens got louder and louder. Then it sounded like fireworks.

The shooting stopped and precaution be damned, he ran out of the alley into a sea of deputies and private security officers who must be Stiles’ men.  There was a lot of activity and one of the deputies had a hand at his chest, trying to stop him from going any further. Derek just shrugged him aside. Out of nowhere Boyd was in front of him. Kira must have called him. Derek still hadn’t seen Stiles though. Where was he? He felt a sense of panic fill him. Why couldn’t he find Stiles.

And then, there he was; talking with Sheriff Parrish, arm waving wildly. All the madness surrounding him and Derek had never felt calmer. He made his way over to Stiles and simply wrapped his arms around him. He didn’t say a thing. Stiles turned into him and returned the embrace.

“I’m okay Der,” he assured him. “I’m okay.”

It took over an hour for the deputies to get their statements, the paramedics to look over everybody and for Harris to be led away in handcuffs. By the time everything was clearing up, Derek’s entire family was on the scene fussing over Derek. Stiles took the moment to call his dad to let him know what had happened and to proclaim his ‘safe and whole’ status. When he was finished, he turned around to find Mayor Hale standing behind him.

“I apologize for misjudging you, for treating you the way I did and for thinking my son would be happier without you.” Talia Hale was never one to beat around the bush. “I hope you can forgive a fretful mother her stupidity. My son loves you – has never stopped loving - and I hear my granddaughter is well on her way to do the same.”

Stiles raised an eyebrow but she cut him off.

“I know the speculation Mr. Stilinski. Regardless of DNA, that little girl is my son’s daughter and my grandchild; as would any child you and Derek may have or adopt, should you pardon an old woman her crimes.”

She paused, eyes wet and Stiles could see the sincerity in her emotion. “Please Stiles, don’t let your hatred of me stop you from finding what happiness you and Derek and Mara can find together.

The lump in his throat was threatening to choke him and his eyes were burning but he managed to say “I don’t hate you.”

Talia smiled beautifully and then she hugged him close.

Derek was there with Mara holding his hand when they broke apart.

“Isaac brought her” Derek said by way of explanation.

“Stiles!” she cried and he knelt down to her. She hugged him tight.

“Daddy says you saved us. You caught the bad guy.”

Stiles laughed. “Well your dad sort of helped. He did call the police.”

She kissed his cheek. “Is it all over then? The danger is done?”

He nodded in confirmation and she smiled. “Good. Is this the part where we can ride off into the sunset?

“Mara,” Derek warned but Stiles just rubbed noses with her. He stood up, one hand holding hers and the other taking Derek’s. With his eyes on Derek’s he replied.

“Well the books all say the hero always gets true love at the end, so yes I guess it is.”

Derek kissed him.

At their side, Mara used her free hand to tug at Derek’s.

“Well let’s go home then. Stiles has to help me finish the puzzle.”

 

 


End file.
